Bloodlines
by Bushy Squirrel
Summary: "Hermione gasped at the sight in front of her, grasping at the door frame for support as her knees gave out from under her. What looked like blood was smeared all over the walls, forming words that made little sense to Hermione." - AU. Rated for language, themes, and violence.
1. Discoveries

**A/N:** Ok, it's been a while since I've written any Harry Potter fanfiction. I've primarily been doing NCIS fanfiction lately. So please excuse any awkwardness you may come across. I gotta change gears from one fandom to the other. It may take a couple chapters.

This is AU, so obviously things are a bit different. I'll ignore any statements of the obvious (aka, "That didn't happen in the books!"), so be forewarned.

Please feel free to point out any grammar mistakes that sneak past my proofreading. To err is human, and I'll be sure to try to keep any mistakes you notice from happening in future chapters.

With that, enjoy!

* * *

Hermione slowly stepped into her parents house, wary about the silence. She knew they both were on a short vacation from work and it was only 5pm. That meant the house should be alive with music as her mother caught up with any cleaning she needed to get done and her father did menial tasks, like fixing cabinet door hinges in the kitchen and replacing insulation in the attic. Her parents were that predictable. It made it easy for her to schedule surprise visits such as this since she moved into an apartment in the Wizarding world the previous June.

An empty living room prompted Hermione to pull her wand out as red flags started waving around in her brain. Not a thing was out of place. There should be bags of old clothes her mother planned to donate to the local shelter. There should be boxes of vegetables from the neighbors as her father did his weekly garden harvest exchange. But there was nothing. Just her parents furniture and decorations, seemingly frozen in time in the silence of the house. Frowning at the lack of evidence that her parents had even been in the living room that day, Hermione walked through the room to get to the kitchen.

The kitchen was as untouched as the living room. Not a single dirty dish in the sink, which told Hermione that her parents hadn't even had breakfast that morning. Even if her parents abruptly decided to become spontaneous and change their day plans, they _always_ ate breakfast at home. Something was not right. A gut feeling suddenly hit Hermione's innards like a brick as she thought over the state of her parents' house, causing her to turn on her heel and make a bee line for the stairwell.

Hermione quietly made her way up the hardwood steps, tightening her grip on her wand enough to make her knuckles white. She mentally begged herself '_Be wrong. Dear god, be wrong_' as her eyes honed in on her parents' bedroom door. Once she reached the top, it took Hermione only a few strides to reach the door and quickly open it.

At first, it looked like her parents' bedroom was as untouched as the living room and kitchen. The bed was made and the window drapes were closed. A color contrast on the carpet caught her eye, though. A familiar hand sticking out from the far side of the bed had Hermione rushing forward.

"Mum!" Hermione forgot every rule of safety that Mad Eye had pounded into her head. Any possible intruders still in the house would have been alerted by her yell, but she hardly cared at the moment. "Mum. Mum. Mum..."

Hermione knelt next to her mother, her hand immediately going to the older woman's throat to look for a pulse. When a slow, steady beat pushed against her fingers Hermione let out a sigh of relief. Her mother was alive. The fact that her mother lay on the floor unconscious, in pajamas, wasn't lost on Hermione. Whatever happened either happened the night before as her mother was heading to bed before her father or that morning after her mother made the bed. Moving her mother so the older woman was laying flat on her back, Hermione stood up to go look for her father.

Her first thought was to look in the master bathroom. Her parents usually went to bed and woke up within ten minutes of each other, so he might have been brushing his teeth during the attack. Hermione paused when she realized her brain was quick to label this an attack. Her mother was unconscious but otherwise unharmed. There was no evidence that she had been attacked. '_The same was said about Tom Riddle's parents._' her brain reminded her. Shuddering at the thought, Hermione continued on to the bathroom.

Empty. Everything was as pristine as the rest of the house. Letting out a growl of frustration, Hermione turned around to look at her mother as she thought of anywhere else in the house her father may have gone before getting dressed for the day. She needed to find him before contacting St. Mungo's for help, finally accepting the fact that this had to be a magical attack. Going from room to room in her mind, Hermione realized that her parents may had taken over her old bedroom for things like extra closet space. Giving her mother one last glance, Hermione headed out of the room.


	2. Sending for Help

**A/N: **I had these first two chapters finished ahead of time, but that's it. Since I have multiple WIPs in other fandoms as well, this story will be updated whenever I manage to get a chapter done. I'm a full-time college student and looking for a job, so I don't have that much free time. I do hope you all are understanding.

Enjoy the next chapter!

* * *

The far end of the hallway was where Hermione's old room was and as she approached it she knew her guess was correct. The door was open just a crack. The door knob had had a slight catch in it for as long as Hermione could remember and needed a bit of coaxing to close completely. Anyone who didn't know that would have thought they closed the door all the way, only to have it pop open a few seconds later. Inhaling sharply to calm the sudden surge of adrenaline going through her veins, Hermione paused momentarily before pushing the bedroom door open.

Hermione gasped at the sight in front of her, grasping at the door frame for support as her knees gave out from under her. Like her mother, her father lay on the floor seeming unharmed. He apparently was in the middle of removing clothes from the closet. But that wasn't what had Hermione looking on in horror. What looked like blood was smeared all over the walls, forming words that made little sense to Hermione: Black, Traitors, Max, Cowards, Peverell, Liars. She recognized the three wizard family names but didn't understand what they had to do with her own family. Nor did she understand why the attackers were calling her parents traitors, cowards, and liars. They were simple muggles who never knew about the magical world until their daughter got her Hogwarts letter six years previous.

Swallowing hard, Hermione forced herself forward to check on her father. Right now, his life was more important. It took a little longer to find it, it was so weak, but Hermione did find a pulse in her father's neck. It was a small miracle in the current situation. Hermione let out a shaky breath as she looked back up at the walls, trying to figure out what they could possibly be about. She knew she should probably contact the Auror office at the Ministry. All magical attacks on muggles needed to be reported. But recent Order meetings brought up news that the Ministry was losing control of its own Departments and couldn't exactly be trusted to do any good. It was becoming a useless entity.

Shaking her head, Hermione made up her mind. St. Mungo's would report it, anyway, and they would only report an attack happening in the rooms their patients were found in. Meaning Hermione needed to move her father back to his own bedroom. With a flick of her wand, she set up a magical cover over the walls to make it look like they were clean enough to eat off of and made a mental note to come back after the Auror investigation. Another flick had Hermione's father levitating a couple feet off the floor and she made quick work of getting him out of the room, making sure to close the door properly so it didn't look out of place.

Hermione thought over which Order members to contact first as she rearranged her unconscious parents. They would need to know her family had been attacked. Hermione was thankful the gravity of the situation had her freaked beyond belief, because when she finally sent an alarm to St. Mungo's she knew she didn't have to bother putting up the act of a panicked daughter who had no idea what was going on.

* * *

Thankfully, it didn't take long for the Medi-Wizards to show up at the door. An Auror had tagged along with them, telling Hermione that they reported her alarm as soon as they got it. She led them up the stairs to her parents' bedroom, answering all the questions they were shooting at her.

"I found them in their bedroom after doing a search around the house. When the house was silent when I arrived about half an hour ago, I knew something was wrong because my parents are people of routine. They are always doing chores around the house at 5pm when they have a day off work." Hermione explained when one of them asked where in the house she found them.

"Did you move either of them?" The one Medi-Wizard asked as the first one set to looking her parents over.

"Yes." Hermione admitted, nodding rapidly. "My first reaction was to check for injuries and to move them to a flat, hard surface in case I needed to do CPR."

"Muggle treatment." The man stated, recognizing the actions. He went over to his partner to work on her parents, clearly finished getting the required information they needed from Hermione.

"Were there any obvious signs of a struggle anywhere in the house that may indicate their attacker moved them?" The Auror took over questioning her. He obviously wanted questions answered when the details were still fresh in her head.

"No." Hermione's rapid nodding from answering the Medi-Wizard immediately turned into rapid shaking, her actions exaggerated from her growing shock. "The house is as clean as ever. Other than my parents being unconscious, I would never have known anything had happened."

"Understood." The Auror took out a small item that, after a small tap from his wand, began to glow a light yellow. "You'll be happy to know that the Cruciatus wasn't used on your parents. Small blessing, I know, considering the variety of other spells that could have put them in this state. But at least they don't have to remember such an experience."

"Wha...what do you mean, don't have to remember?" Hermione asked. Muggle attacks usually meant memory charms were required.

"Your parents will be treated but their memories won't be wiped. They already know about the magical world, so maintaining the Statute of Secrecy isn't required in this instance." The Auror explained slowly, eying Hermione with a tad bit of worry. He turned his head towards the Medi-Wizards. "Hey, do either of you have a Calming Draught on you?"

"One second." The second Medi-Wizard said, waving his wand over Mr. Granger as he performed a diagnostic spell. Seemingly pleased with the white mist that appeared over Mr. Granger, the Medi-Wizard turned to dig something out of his bag and tossed the bottle over to the Auror. The bottle was quickly transferred to Hermione's hands and she was prompted to drink it. One large gulp drastically dropped her level of adrenaline, stopping the shaking.

"After they transport your parents to St. Mungo's, Miss Granger, I'm going to need you to remain here a little bit longer as I test for any magical residue here in your parents' bedroom and the outside of the house. It shouldn't take long but regulations do dictate that you be present to formally give me permission to test your parents' home since they _are_ related to a witch."

"Of course." Hermione agreed to the Auror's request. St. Mungo's could be trusted to treat her parents. And since she knew they were going to live, part of her wanted to know a general idea of who attacked them.

"That'll be now, Auror Brownwell." The first Medi-Wizard spoke up as he stood. "Miss Granger, your parents will be treated on the Fourth Floor. There's been mild damage, but nothing too severe for you to worry too much. Depending on how well they respond to treatment, I would expect them to remain in St. Mungo's a week at the longest."

"Thank you." Hermione replied weakly. She watched as the Medi-Wizards prepped her parents for transport and left with them a few minutes later. Auror Brownwell immediately started testing the bedroom for magical residue, giving Hermione time to take in everything that had happened in the last hour.

Her mind kept on going back to the words smeared on her old bedroom walls. She recognized the name Peverell from the Tale of the Three Brothers. An odd reference, but that wasn't what stood out to her the most. The names Black and Max caused more concern. Those families were far more recent. While Hermione knew very little about the Black family, and even less about the Max family, she definitely knew someone who held a lot of knowledge about one of them.

"Auror Brownwell. Do you need me to supervise everything you do or do I need to simply remain on the property? I would like to notify a friend about what has happened." Hermione spoke up. He turned from doing an incantation over the place her parents had been laying, shaking his head.

"As long as you remain on the premises I do not need you to oversee every single thing I do. Feel free to do things in other rooms of the house."

"Thank you." Hermione nodded, turning to leave the room. She mentally thanked whatever God that was listening that she talked her parents into getting their fireplace connected to the Floo network. It made contacting others for help that much easier. She really didn't want to explain to the Auror upstairs how she could communicate with a Patronus. Grabbing a handful of powder from the vase next to the fire tools, Hermione started a small fire in the fireplace with her wand before throwing the powder in. "Spinner's End!" When the flame flared green, Hermione knew it was safe to stick her head through.

"Ah, Miss Granger. I was wondering who decided to interrupt my evening." Came Professor Snape's voice before she fully registered the room in front of her. She took a few even breaths, prompting a raised eyebrow from Snape, before speaking.

"Professor, I need your help. Someone attacked my parents. The Medi-Wizards have already taken them to St. Mungo's, but there is something you need to see here after the Auror leaves." Hermione summarized, knowing the man hated it when people elaborated needlessly. A shocked expression appeared on Snape's face for a few seconds before he cleared it, setting his cup of tea down as he stood up from his seat.

"Back up, Miss Granger. I'm coming through." He ordered. Hermione didn't hesitate to return to her parents' living room, scrambling to stand up just as Snape came through. She began wringing her hands together as he took a few moments to glance around the place. "I take it this attack did not happen down here."

"No. Upstairs." Hermione glanced back towards the stairwell before stepping closer to Snape to whisper. "My mother was in their bedroom, but my father was in my old bedroom. I...well, I moved him to their bedroom before contacting St. Mungo's."

"Why, pray tell, did you do that?" Snape questioned her.

"You'll see when Auror Brownwell leaves. It's why I contacted you first." She answered. Foot steps started to come down the stairs, causing Hermione to immediately put some distance between her and Snape again.

"Oh! Professor Snape, I didn't realize that you were the friend Miss Granger was referring to when she said she needed to contact someone." Auror Brownwell smiled in greeting to Snape.

"You'd be surprised." Snape said, providing no details for Brownwell.

"Well, Miss Granger, whoever it was covered their tracks upstairs. The traces have been cleaned up. Hopefully I can find one outside so I can connect a wand to the hexes and spells the Healers at St. Mungo's will be identifying as they treat your parents." Brownwell turned to Hermione, explaining what he had found so far.

"Will the outside take much longer? I would very much like to go see how my parents are doing." Hermione asked, ignoring the update.

"I understand, Miss Granger. It shouldn't take much longer. I'll try to hurry as much as I can." Brownwell replied. Seeing that Hermione had no more questions for him, he headed out the front door to check the perimeter of the house for magic traces.

"And they wonder why the public is losing faith in them." Snape commented dryly. Rolling her eyes, Hermione walked over to the couch to sit down.

"I am not expecting him to do much. Just the formal report. What I'm really worried about will need the attention of the Order, I feel." That prompted another raised eyebrow from Snape.

"Short of them being used in a Satanic ritual, what could possibly have happened to your parents to have you so worried, Miss Granger?" Hermione's eyes glanced up at the ceiling. Since the stairwell rose up to the rear of the house, that put the end of the upstairs hallway and her room right above them.

"You...you'll see." Her vagueness obviously irritated Snape, but he didn't push her further. He couldn't disagree with her choice to wait until the Auror left to get into detail on what she had found. That man had already proven to Snape how incompetent he was. True to his word, though, Brownwell came back inside not ten minutes later after a long, tense silence between Hermione and Snape.

"Not a thing out there, either, Miss Granger. I'll be heading to the Ministry now to write up the report. Hopefully the Healers at St. Mungo's can provide a lead."

"Thank you, Auror Brownwell." Hermione forced a smile on her face.

"Not a problem, Miss Granger." Brownwell nodded at her before heading back outside, apparating as soon as he was clear of the door.

"This way." Hermione wasted no time going back upstairs, leaving Snape to follow her. It was probably rude, since _she_ had asked _him _for his assistance, but her mind was still on getting to St. Mungo's to see her parents. Hermione's bedroom door bounced off the door stop as she flung it open, Snape stopping at the frame as she went to the center of the room.

"And I am supposed to see what?" He rose an eyebrow at her, not caring about the glare she threw in his direction.

"This." Hermione flicked her wand to undo her earlier charm. Snape was unable to hold back the look of surprise as he took in the words written on the walls. "I have no idea what any of it could possibly mean, Professor. Why are my parents being called liars, traitors, and cowards? They're muggles! They haven't done anything in the magical world!"

"Hermione, we need to get you out of this house." The little color that had been on Snape's face had long since drained away as his look of surprise turned into one of mild horror.

"Excuse me?" Hermione did a double-take at the use of her first name.

"Now!" Snape hissed. He grabbed her wrist, dragging her out of her old bedroom and back down the hallway to the stairs.

"Professor!" Hermione gasped in shock as she struggled to remain upright as the two of them hurried down the stairs. "What is going on?!"

Snape remained silent, lightly pushing Hermione in the direction of the fireplace as he grabbed some floo powder. Confused, Hermione stepped closer to the fireplace as Snape grabbed her wrist again the threw the powder into the fire.

"Grimmauld Place!" He yelled, confusing Hermione even further in the split second before they disappeared from her parents' living room.


	3. Uneasy Agreement

**A/N:** Here you go, everyone! Have a new chapter! Enjoy!

**Review Replies:**

_Mione' rocks (guest)_ – Thank you so much for your enthusiasm, but I must make one small clarification. In your review, you paired off the family names written on the wall with the adjectives I used. That was not my intention. I meant for all six words to be read as a single group. They're an important plot detail and I do not want you to be confused later on when I do not refer to the whole Black family as traitors, the whole Max family as cowards, or the whole Peverell family as liars. You will see what I mean when the words on Hermione's bedroom wall are explained in a later chapter.

* * *

Hermione and Snape stumbled forward into Grimmauld Place, Hermione letting out a small yelp in surprise when Snape's grip on her wrist kept her from falling to the floor. The moment she was steady, though, he let go and immediately headed into the depths of the house in the direction of the kitchen. Growing a bit irritated with Snape's silence, Hermione took chase.

"Professor, what's wrong?" Hermione tried asking. Any answer she could have gotten, if Snape was even going to bother to open his mouth to provide her with one, was cut off as they entered the kitchen and came face-to-face with most of the Order.

"Ah, Severus! Miss Granger! We were about to send out for the two of you." Professor McGonagall spoke up in a surprised, but pleased, tone. "We needed to move the meeting up to today."

"Not right now, Minvera." Snape hissed, making his way around the other Order members to the far side of the kitchen. McGonagall looked taken aback by Snape's comment, looking towards Hermione for an explanation as the younger woman also made her way through the crowd in an attempt to keep up with Snape.

"Sor...I'm sorry, Professor!" Hermione called as she stumbled past people. "But...but something has come up."

"Kreacher!" Snape yelled at the house elf's 'home' in the kitchen, ignoring the confused looks everyone was giving him.

"Hermione, what happened?" Remus spoke up. A look of concern flew across his face as he considered the situation. Whatever had Snape worked up and Hermione in a mild panic could not be good.

"Yes?" Kreacher pulled himself out into the open, muttering his usual insults about the Order members under his breath.

"I need the key to Regulus' bedroom." Snape ordered, holding a hand out to the elf.

"Wait, what?" Hermione turned from the group to give Snape yet another confused look. "What does Regulus have anything to do with what happened? And why do you need to get into his room?"

"Kreacher does not have the key any longer." Kreacher informed Snape with a scowl.

"What?!" Snape yelled in disbelief. Letting out a growl in frustration, Hermione strode forward to put herself between her professor and the house elf.

"He doesn't have the key anymore because I have it! Sirius gave it to me when he gave me Regulus' bedroom to use." She interrupted before Snape could turn his ire on her. "Something about, and I quote, reminding him about his 'swot of a baby brother'. Now why do you want in?"

The quoted Black could be heard snickering from his place at the kitchen table, which promptly turned into a yelp when Remus smacked him upside his head.

"Regulus' journals." Snape supplied with absolutely no details.

"Why do you want Regulus' journals?" Hermione elaborated. This had something to do with the words written on her old bedroom wall. She just knew it.

"I need to check something." Snape shot back through clenched teeth. The 'showdown' was becoming entertaining to their witnesses even though everyone else had no idea why they were arguing in the first place.

"Well, his journals aren't here." That small bit of news made Hermione feel a tad bit of glee, as it created a mixed look of anger and irritation on Snape's face, but she knew she would have to explain. "I use his room when I'm here visiting, but anything of interest I transported to my apartment for further study. That includes his journals."

"Why, pray tell, did you do _that_?" Snape asked with barely restrained sarcasm.

"You don't honestly believe the stories of how he died, do you?!" Hermione shot back with her own tone of disbelief. "It's a load of bollocks is what it is! Something _happened_ to Regulus Black and his possessions are the first place to look to figure out what!"

"Hey, hey, hey!" Remus stepped in before the argument got worse, irritated that he was the one who always had to play mediator. "Would you two please explain what has you two so worked up? I have _never_ seen you like this, Severus. It's particularly worrying."

Hermione and Snape looked back and forth between each other and Remus, wondering who was going to answer the demand first, before Hermione's emotions from before she fetched Snape came back with a vengeance. She burst into tears, shocking nearly everyone else except Snape, silencing the background whispers that had been going on behind Remus. Snape barely caught her in time when her knees gave out and led her to the nearest kitchen chair.

"Oh, my god, why did this happen?! Who did it?! I know you have an idea, otherwise you wouldn't be asking for Regulus' journals! Who is it?!" Hermione gave Snape a pleading expression, barely able to see the man through her tears even though he was standing right next to her. Snape gave her a calculating look before making his decision, turning his attention to the rest of the Order.

"Miss Granger's parents were attacked last night. They're currently at St. Mungo's."

"My goodness!" McGonagall exhaled with wide eyes as everyone else looked on in surprise at this turn of events.

"Who?!" Hermione demanded again, ignoring the others.

"Honestly, I have no idea. The identity of the attacker or attackers is not why I am interested in Regulus' journals." Snape placated her. He, like most of the men in the room, was unable to deny anything to a crying woman for long. "What I am interested in is important. I cannot confirm or deny anything until I have had the chance to read Regulus' journals, so do not ask what it is about, but I assure you it _is_ important. Where in your apartment are they?"

"Umm..." Hermione wiped her eyes with her hands in a futile attempt to clear them. "In...in a box, under my bed. I've been reading them before I go to sleep. I'm only up to year 1974."

"Why are the journals important?" Remus spoke up to insert himself in the conversation again. "Why would the ramblings of a teenaged, pureblood boy have anything to do with an attack on muggles?"

"Like I said, I cannot explain." Snape replied in a terse tone. "I am not even sure my answer will be there, but it's the first place I can think to look considering the circumstances."

"That only answers my first question." Remus called Snape out on his avoidance. Snape turned to look at Hermione, as if asking her if she wanted the others to know everything right away.

"The attackers left a message on the wall of my old bedroom." Hermione provided, taking the focus off Snape. She was making an immense effort to force herself to calm down. "It doesn't make any sense to me. It seemed logical to ask Professor Snape if he knew what it was about."

"The message being?" Professor McGonagall found her voice again.

"A few family names. A few insults. No actual statement." Hermione summarized. "It looks like it was written in blood."

"The names?" Remus prodded. Something about this was setting him off.

"Black. Max. Peverell. I know asking Sirius about this is the obvious option, but the blood made me think this attack was personal and is related to something relatively recent. Being disowned sort of cut Sirius off from the flow of information." Hermione warbled on autopilot. A curious expression had appeared on Sirius' face the moment Hermione had said his name, but careful consideration of everything she just said was making him focus on Snape with a look of sudden clarity.

"Perdita." Sirius breathed out. It caused nearly everyone to look at him in surprise that he actually had something to say. The name, however, produced a scowl on Snape's face instead of surprise.

"I'm not sure." Snape hissed in response. "That's why I need Regulus' journals."

"Who's Perdita?" Hermione turned to Snape once again, as if he held all the answers.

"Yeah, Sirius." Remus turned to his friend with his own seeking look. "Who is she?"

"No one." Sirius and Snape replied at the same time. The rare statement of agreement between the two of them wasn't lost on anyone, though, and cast an uneasy feeling over the room.

"If she's no one then why do you need to check the journals?" Hermione pushed, refusing to back down.

"Because Regulus' journals would be more up-to-date on the goings on of the Black family than what our current source can provide." Snape motioned towards Sirius as he spoke. "And I'm not about to risk questioning Narcissa at this point in time. Gossip of your parents being in St. Mungo's is probably already making its rounds throughout the hospital and every socialite in Britain will know about this attack by dinner."

"Oh..." Hermione couldn't exactly argue against Snape's logic. As she had figured, he knew what to do and was acting on that knowledge.

"You stay here while I go skim over the journals I need. Until I know for sure whether or not they'll be of use, it would not be wise to allow you to go to St. Mungo's." Snape began to walk towards the entrance of the kitchen.

"Wait! How are you going to get into my apartment?" Hermione questioned with wide eyes. "It's heavily warded."

"After being your teacher for several years, Miss Granger, I think it is safe to say I know how you think. I can get past your wards." Snape replied smoothly, not breaking his stride. "Keep her _here_, Lupin."

Hermione continued to look at the doorway with a put out expression after Snape had left, ignoring everyone else as their attentions turned towards her.

"Am I the only one here wondering why Snape is suddenly so concerned for Hermione's safety?" Harry spoke up after a few moments of silence. McGonagall and Remus threw looks at him, causing him to quickly clarify his question. "I mean, yes. He's always been concerned for our safety when an attack happens and whatnot. But he seems particularly focused on Hermione this time around. He's more concerned than usual."

"He has every right to be." Sirius' eyes didn't leave Hermione as he replied to Harry's inquiry.

"Why?" Harry's turned towards his godfather.

"Bloody hell, Sirius!" Remus interrupted, finally letting out his irritation. "_What_ aren't you telling us?"

"Let's call it Pureblood Politics and leave it at that, Moony." Sirius slowly looked towards his fellow Marauder. "If Snape's line of thought is going in the right direction, and never before have I wished this hard that he is wrong, then a lot is going to be changing. For the worse."

"Like what? We're in the middle of a war. It could hardly get worse." Remus scoffed.

"It would change the playing field. And I certainly would be questioning my trust in Dumbledore." A grim look grew on Sirius' face. It was a look that hadn't been seen since shortly after he had escaped Azkaban, alluding to just how serious the situation was.

"Where is the Professor?" Hermione finally spoke, her gaze turning towards McGonagall. "You said the meeting had to be moved up."

"On his way. He had to meet with someone before coming." McGonagall answered. She appeared slightly confused by Hermione's change in focus, but decided not to question it. Letting the young woman dwell on her parents when she had been ordered to stay in Grimmauld Place may not be a good idea.

"Then why don't we begin? He can catch up when he arrives." Hermione forced the entire group back to their original purpose for being there in the first place. Her expression left very little room for argument. Hermione was clearly putting all her trust in Snape's hands and wasn't going to address the issue with her parents until the man returned. Nodding in agreement, McGonagall let out a small sigh before switching her focus to the packet of information she had in front of her that was the topic for their meeting.


End file.
